Barbie knows what it feels like to not know what need she was made to fill
This is a continuation of a three part series on discovering your #purpose. If you’re reading this first, I invite you to first check out Part 1 and Part 2, where you are invited to explore your unique “skill” and “will”.
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
– Winston Churchill
In our third and final installment of finding #purpose, we’ll focus on helping you find what need you aspire to “fill” in your community. While this sounds altruistic, it’s actually quite self-serving. Research shows that those who add value to their community tend to reap as much benefit, especially to their long-term health 💪, as their recipients. But how do you determine what societal need you want to dedicate time and energy to fill? 🌍
Find clues in your childhood
The societal need that calls to us tends to be personal, and often relates to our childhood experience. As a black girl born in 1950s Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey saw a need in her community to inspire others to be more than what they thought they could be. While she didn’t seek out doing that in the public eye (her first aspiration was to be a teacher), the unique combination of her skill / will / and need to fill led her to engage in her purpose as a TV host 📺. Elon Musk had a challenging upbringing in South Africa, facing abuse and several near-death encounters as a child. Not taking survivalism for granted relates to pursuing a mission to preserve humankind through renewable energy 🚗 and interplanetary mobility 🚀. Shigeru Miyamoto, widely regarded as one of the most influential video game designers and creators of all time, spent his childhood exploring the caves and countryside around Kyoto. His deep love for nature and the creative process inspired him to develop games like Super Mario Bros. 🍄 and Zelda 🧝♂️, finding a need to design for creators. Not for user groups.
Your community need to “fill” doesn’t need to be audacious or awe-inspiring. Though connecting it to a need that speaks to you personally, and perhaps is a need that you have yourself (just as Oprah, Musk, and Miyamoto-san did), will make your purpose more meaingful.
Observe and inquire
Consider taking a notepad and pen and sitting in your favorite local cafe ☕ for a few hours listening to conversations around you. What concerns do you hear? Wherever you live (whether it’s the richest ZIP / postal code in the world, or the least affluent), you may end up hearing some common needs. The beauty of engaging in this exercise after completing Part 1 (uncovering your skill) and Part 2 (determining your will) is that you are more likely to listen with a keen ear for what you uniquely are well positioned to help address 👂. If you’re stumped or you simply don’t enjoy sitting in cafes, consider reviewing the great resources on 80,000 hours, a non-profit dedicated to supporting those who are looking to address the most critical problems humankind faces. 🌍 Or to start with your local community, consider surveying your local community leaders and neighbors on what local needs they need support with.
No need is too small
Just like the “skill” and “will” exercise, there are endless correct answers to the question of what need you should “fill” in your purpose. No need to limit yourselves to needs that sound “noble” to fill for others or signal virtue. But remember, a purpose without a need to “fill” misses the opportunity of sustaining a value ripple effect around you. Said differently, if you are exercising your skill, satisfying your will, but not filling a need you notice in others around you, you may eventually be performing in an empty stadium 🏟️. Or at least it will feel that way to you. The need you fill should enable you to feel a higher order in your purpose. Confidence that you are living a life through what you give, not only making a living.
Writing up your purpose statement
By combining your skill, will, and the need you want to fill, you should be able to start pulling together a purpose statement ✍🏽. For example, if the unique skill you’ve identified for yourself is a strong skill of presenting engagingly to others, you have a strong will for drama and theater, and the societal need you strive to fill is educating the next generation, your purpose might look something like “Enabling the next generation through storytelling” 📖. The way you fulfill your purpose could develop throughout your career (from teaching 5th grade, to executive roles at Duolingo), but the brushstrokes of your purpose should feel present throughout.
Make a copy of this purpose worksheet to help. Once you’ve had a go at writing up your purpose statement, share it out and get feedback. See how it feels saying it out loud. If it feels great, post it somewhere you can read it every day 🪧.
